Vinh Campaign

The Vinh Campaign (22 October 1949-3 September 1950) was a major engagement of the First Indochina War that saw France and South Vietnam launch a massive offensive against the Viet Minh forces on the coast of French Indochina just south of the city of Vinh. The campaign included heavy fighting between Viet Minh and French armored units near Vinh in addition to additional combat as the French pushed to the north of Vinh. The campaign was extremely costly for both sides, with 123,378 French troops, 1,090 South Vietnamese troops, and 76,607 troops being casualties as of 16 August 1950.

Background
Ho Chi Minh's Viet Minh resistance movement in North Vietnam waged a lengthy war against France and its South Vietnam colony in southern French Indochina after the end of World War II, and France was forced to send hundreds of thousands of its sons to fight in Southeast Asia against the Viet Minh rebels. During the First Indochina War, the French were supplied and backed by the United States, while the Soviet Union formed an alliance with North Vietnam and sent armored vehicles and weapons to support their ally. The French and their South Vietnamese allies, led by Emperor Bao Dai and colonial administrator John Okalik, planned a massive offensive against the Viet Minh in late 1949, with large colonial forces with armor launching an attack against the Viet Minh on the coast in what is now Nghe An Province.

Offensive
The French and South Vietnamese forces, spearheaded by several armored divisions, launched an assault against the Viet Minh forces with armor, meeting them in an armored battle. The Viet Minh succeeded in holding back many French attacks, destroying isolated units when they attacked their tanks. French and South Vietnamese casualties mounted as the campaign to the south of Vinh stretched out over a year, and the French took heavy losses during repeated attacks against the Viet Minh forces. By September 1950, the Viet Minh had been worn down, with their capital of Hanoi having already been captured, and the Viet Minh withdrew towards their new capital of Thai Nguyen. 123,378 French troops, 1,090 South Vietnamese troops, and 76,607 Viet Minh troops were killed in the campaign, a major French victory over the Viet Minh.